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Hillsboro School Board supports the possibility of a K-8 program in the district

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Hillsboro schools in "outlying areas," like rural Groner Elementary, pictured above, might one day turn into K-8 programs. Superintendent Mike Scott said the district would begin looking into the idea.
(Doug Beghtel / The Oregonian)

School boards of Hillsboro’s past haven’t been interested in the possibility of a K-8 program within the district’s borders. But when the suggestion came before the board’s current incarnation Tuesday evening, there was overwhelming support – so Superintendent Mike Scott and his staff will begin looking into it.

That doesn’t mean residents should expect a shiny new building specifically designed for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, according to Scott.

The Hillsboro residents who request such a program usually live in more rural, outlying areas served by buildings like Groner and Farmington View elementary schools. District spokeswoman Beth Graser said those schools currently have the room to add more students, so a K-8 program would likely be located at one or more of those or similar buildings.

For instance, the program might be started by allowing Groner students in sixth grade to remain there for seventh rather than graduating to South Meadows Middle School.

A K-8 program likely would not offer older students as many programs and extracurricular activities found at the district’s existing middle schools, which serve seventh and eighth grade. But many families, Scott said, feel that their children would benefit from a smaller classroom environment that is closer to where they live.

Scott said that such a program might present the district with staffing challenges, since students likely wouldn’t switch classes as much for different subjects.

“You have to find just the right teacher who can provide a variety of different subjects,” he said Tuesday evening.

Board member Janeen Sollman said she supported the idea but also wondered about the cost of “retrofitting” such areas as elementary school restrooms for older students.

Scott acknowledged that the district has done “zero work” on determining the feasibility of a K-8 program, but he said he will now “dig in” after the board’s enthusiasm for the idea.

Board member Wayne Clift said he could see the idea working better in rural areas. “It doesn’t seem like a one-size-fit-all option, but it seems like, as a solution for a particular area, it might work,” he said. Seligman agreed but added that some kids in the more developed areas of Hillsboro might want to transfer to a K-8 program.

“Our schools should be less homogenous. … They should have a variety of programs,” Seligman said, echoing his oft-repeated mantra of school choice.

Board member Glenn Miller said he could see older, middle-school-aged kids mentoring elementary students if they all attended the same school.